Sunday Sessions and vocal recording tips
Started my day workin on Dilated Peoples. I'm so close to done I can taste it, the song is feeling really good (at least i think so, hopefully Dilated Peoples will think so too!!!) I hope to put the last nail in the coffin tonight. Its probably the most challenging songs i've worked on this year because of the type of work i have to do, but so far its been really rewarding.
I'm sitting here right now recording vocals with E-dro. He got back in town last night from London. We've spent alot of the afternoon writing clean versions of any of the songs in contention for singles or for film and TV placement. Plus we definitely need a "Wal-Mart" album of all clean versions, one of the realities of retail sales. I hate rap albums that have a ton of words all chopped out, so we're spending time to make sure we do creative clean versions that keep as much of the meaning of each line as we can. Some lines we find are just better muted, but as long as the main flow of the song keeps going I'm happy. Its also tough because BET makes you remove alot of stuff like gun and drug references in addtion to curse words, so you have to be ready for it. At least we will be ready for it. There are creative ways to get ideas across without getting censored.
Anyway, E-dro is currently in the booth murdering vocal takes. He sounds great today. So for you gear geeks (like me), here's the current vocal chain..... Sony C800G microphone (tube condensor) into an Avalon 737 then into a vintage Lang PEQ2 program Equalizer (amazing and similar to a Pultec but i like it better) then directly into the Pro Tools HD 192 interface. I have a high pass filter on the Avalon, around 70hz, nothing going on down there anyway on a vocal except stuff you dont want. fast attack release compression on the avalon reducing to a maximum of about 7 to 10 DB at most. a touch of Avalon EQ boost at 15K and also at 2.8K, also adding a touch of 5K and a bit of 160Hz on the Lang EQ. His voice sounds really big today.
For you young un's out there, any time you put a vocalist in the booth, make damn sure the headphones sound great, the best rough mix you can give them, make sure the headphones are loud but not deafening. and by loud, i mean pretty darn loud, most artists like feeling it loud. i do. Make SURE you check the mic before you put the artist in there. Have someone talk and shout thru the mic over the music, make sure your levels are good, and that the artist wont peak when they really dig in. Do anything you can to make sure that artist feels like they are making a hit record the second they put those headphones on, if they sound great when those headphones go on, you'll put them in a good zone, if they sound bad or the mix sounds bad or out of balance, the performance will usually reflect it. All of these things matter. The worst mistake i see young engineers make is to have the artist performing while the engineer gets a "vocal sound". I've seen engineers make the artist go thru two or three whole takes of a song while the engineer changes levels, EQ's compresses, etc.... The whole time the engineer is LOSING the performance and the vibe. A talented engineer should always catch the first take or at bare minimum have all their settings together by the end of the first verse of the first take. Some of the most amazing singers (like Aretha Franklin or CoCo from SWV) will literally only give you two takes total, or three if you beg. thats all you get, and they'll be amazing takes if you can capture them, but if you dont capture them, your screwed.
One last thing. You as an engineer or producer are the psychologist during vocal takes, or any kind of recording takes. What you say, how you act, your body language, inflections, everything affects the performer. You need to put them in the frame of mind they need to be in to perform the song. There's no formula for how to accomplish that, thats where experience and instinct come in.
So, i'm gonna get back back to these vocals, gonna be a great day of work, I'm hoping to finish Dilated Peoples late tonight. There are a couple other things on my plate but nothing i cant stay on top of hopefully. I hope all of your sessions are going as well as mine.
-Ken
I'm sitting here right now recording vocals with E-dro. He got back in town last night from London. We've spent alot of the afternoon writing clean versions of any of the songs in contention for singles or for film and TV placement. Plus we definitely need a "Wal-Mart" album of all clean versions, one of the realities of retail sales. I hate rap albums that have a ton of words all chopped out, so we're spending time to make sure we do creative clean versions that keep as much of the meaning of each line as we can. Some lines we find are just better muted, but as long as the main flow of the song keeps going I'm happy. Its also tough because BET makes you remove alot of stuff like gun and drug references in addtion to curse words, so you have to be ready for it. At least we will be ready for it. There are creative ways to get ideas across without getting censored.
Anyway, E-dro is currently in the booth murdering vocal takes. He sounds great today. So for you gear geeks (like me), here's the current vocal chain..... Sony C800G microphone (tube condensor) into an Avalon 737 then into a vintage Lang PEQ2 program Equalizer (amazing and similar to a Pultec but i like it better) then directly into the Pro Tools HD 192 interface. I have a high pass filter on the Avalon, around 70hz, nothing going on down there anyway on a vocal except stuff you dont want. fast attack release compression on the avalon reducing to a maximum of about 7 to 10 DB at most. a touch of Avalon EQ boost at 15K and also at 2.8K, also adding a touch of 5K and a bit of 160Hz on the Lang EQ. His voice sounds really big today.
For you young un's out there, any time you put a vocalist in the booth, make damn sure the headphones sound great, the best rough mix you can give them, make sure the headphones are loud but not deafening. and by loud, i mean pretty darn loud, most artists like feeling it loud. i do. Make SURE you check the mic before you put the artist in there. Have someone talk and shout thru the mic over the music, make sure your levels are good, and that the artist wont peak when they really dig in. Do anything you can to make sure that artist feels like they are making a hit record the second they put those headphones on, if they sound great when those headphones go on, you'll put them in a good zone, if they sound bad or the mix sounds bad or out of balance, the performance will usually reflect it. All of these things matter. The worst mistake i see young engineers make is to have the artist performing while the engineer gets a "vocal sound". I've seen engineers make the artist go thru two or three whole takes of a song while the engineer changes levels, EQ's compresses, etc.... The whole time the engineer is LOSING the performance and the vibe. A talented engineer should always catch the first take or at bare minimum have all their settings together by the end of the first verse of the first take. Some of the most amazing singers (like Aretha Franklin or CoCo from SWV) will literally only give you two takes total, or three if you beg. thats all you get, and they'll be amazing takes if you can capture them, but if you dont capture them, your screwed.
One last thing. You as an engineer or producer are the psychologist during vocal takes, or any kind of recording takes. What you say, how you act, your body language, inflections, everything affects the performer. You need to put them in the frame of mind they need to be in to perform the song. There's no formula for how to accomplish that, thats where experience and instinct come in.
So, i'm gonna get back back to these vocals, gonna be a great day of work, I'm hoping to finish Dilated Peoples late tonight. There are a couple other things on my plate but nothing i cant stay on top of hopefully. I hope all of your sessions are going as well as mine.
-Ken
posted by Protools Mixing at 5:57 PM
6 Comments:
Hey Ken its Ariel..just found these blogs a few days ago during a break on a session i was working on and decided to comment...great stuff man...really inspiring for you to give your knowledge to up and coming engineers...i know i took what you taught me and really used it throughout my career to date...its good to know there are good people in the industry still willing to pass there knowledge onto others...drop me an email sometime...westwardproductions@gmail.com...peace.
Ken,
Thanks again for blessing us with your wisdom.. I have a question, I'm working with a guy who has been recording for a while and he insists that we compress to tape. Being the new guy in the room I cranked the compressor but I don't believe he needed it. I've been out of school for about 2 years so I understand I have alot to learn. Should I make a stand or should I shut up and turn knobs? Thanks
Damon Dudley
DamonDudley@yahoo.com
I am interest about the compresion to tape comment. Can you, if you want to post a blog about it would be interesting
hey Ken, I just wanna say I recently found your website and I think it's awesome! I love the fact that you have a blog and talk about a lot of tech stuff that only us nerds cant get enough of! i recently graduated from an audio engineering school (IAR) in NY and I am currently doing business out of a small basement studio. pre-amps are key, but a mix CAN make or break a project! (mastering can only break it and if ur lucky make it louder! lol) i am working a part time job and saving up for gear. any suggestions on gettin started? I am also looking into applying to Berkley next year, how is their audio engineering program?
Nsykac Steel
Hey Ken!
I stumbled upon ur blog by accidnet, was looking for some tips on Compression, Eq and what not..
But i have to say, i read your article with bated breadth, i've take down some tips and added them to my study guide, adn will use them in my day to day mixxing.
thansk alot!
Looking forward to reading more stuff from you!
Nsykac Steel
Hey Ken!
I stumbled upon ur blog by accidnet, was looking for some tips on Compression, Eq and what not..
But i have to say, i read your article with bated breadth, i've take down some tips and added them to my study guide, and will use them in my day to day mixxing.
thansk alot!
Looking forward to reading more stuff from you!
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